Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Simply A Masterpiece

Best movie ever!

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

One of the greatest movie i have ever seen.In fact after shawshank redemption,i admire this the most.I was very curious about what happens next and so on throughout this.Johnny depp had a very mature character which suits to the plot of the movie

On my second rewatch I upped this film half a star. It's genuinely pretty entertaining, and I think the first time that I saw it, I wasn't quite expecting such a "commercial" film. I think I was right on the tail end of finishing Venus in Fur in fact, so I was looking for something more... art-house. At any rate, this film is highly entertaining, a slow burning thriller, the type that Polanski is so damn good at. As always, beautiful, beautiful sets, lighting, and camera work. I have no idea why people say that Depp was miscast, I thought he was fantastic.

Continuing my plan to watch every Johnny Depp movie in order, I come to The Ninth Gate.When this was announced I was disgusted Depp would work with Roman Polanski. I decided to still see it in cinemas, as I did everything Depp made back then. I think my disgust may have clouded my judgement as I hated it. And like Fear & Loathing, I have never revisited it, despite the DVD sitting in my collection for over a decade. Depp is once again solid, but this movie is not two of his better hours. Frank Langella normally brightens up any movie just by having his name in the cast. But here he is in pantomime villain mode!! He even shouts "Boo" at one point!! Depp's Donnie Brasco costar James Russo has a role as Depp's trusted friend Bernie. Who says his loyalty is 100%, unless there is money, women or work involved.I found the score too quirky at times, the CGI poor and I'm still not sure what happened at the end, or why?? It's certainly not clear!!The Ninth Gate grossed $18 million dollars at the domestic box office, not landing a spot on the highest 100 grossing movies of the year.Depp met Vanessa Paradis whilst filming this movie in France, he promptly fell in love with her and moved to France. There was no more arrests, no more trashed hotel rooms and outside of one incident early in their relationship, there were no more fights with paparazzi either. The next 5 years would be the most stable period of Depp's adult life.

'The Ninth Gate' is an instant classic, a tasteful, idiosyncratic, and tactfully executed film on the occult knowledge so many know nothing of, a film of powerful symbology. This film is an ode to the uninitiated, demonstrating how the occult world and its knowledge is more commonplace and 'real' than we might believe, it surrounds us, it is us.At all times, 'The Ninth Gate' makes the viewer question its directions and motives, even the lead character, Corso (Johnny Depp), cannot be trusted, everything is expendable, with a lingeringly somber feeling of danger and fragility at every twist and turn. Corso comes from the Latin 'cursus' meaning 'course'; the events that unfold become a prophesy that Corso is on a 'course' to fulfill from the very start, this is a reference to the left and right hand paths and how our choices affect everything, Corso chose marriage with the covenant of Satan, The Girl (Emmanuelle Seigner), the antilight. 9 is the number of Satan, the number of base consciousness, the ego.In the Satanic Rituals (THE UNKNOWN KNOWN) Anton LaVey speaks ambiguously and enigmatically about the number 9 being the main number of which to identify with Satan and the ego. "Despite other's attempts to identify a certain number with Satan (meaning 666), It will be known that Nine is his number. Nine is the number of the Ego, for it always returns to itself. No matter what is done through the most complex multiplication of Nine by any other number, in the final equation nine alone will stand forth." - Anton LaVey, The Satanic RitualsThe number 9 also refers to Yesod node of the tree of life, Yesod channels, the feminine Malkuth receives (sex act, as in the film). In turn, it is through Malkuth that the earth is able to interact with the divinity. This may be what is portrayed in the events detailed in the film.'The Ninth Gate' is one of Roman Polanski's greatest works, threading together an engaging psychological thriller with a philosophical and theological backing that keeps the whole piece held in an air of mystery and suspense.The sets are Gothic and gloomy, the music is aptly fitting, the acting and scripts even more so; nothing breaks the persistent, unshakable scene and tone that is set by Polanski, who has obviously taken into careful consideration every possible factor to create a deeply immersive, memorable experience for the viewer.9.7/10